SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California lawmakers, over Gov. Gavin Newsom's objections, passed sweeping legislation early Saturday allowing the state to impose strict endangered species protections and water pumping restrictions for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The governor must now decide whether to veto the bill and raise the ire of ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- A controversy that once appeared comical -- President Donald Trump's decision to display a crudely doctored weather map in the Oval Office -- has taken on more serious overtones, with questions about how far the president will push U.S. government agencies to cover up for his errors.

LOS ANGELES -- The Trump administration's trip to Los Angeles this week to explore ways to remove homeless street camps has left city officials confused -- with reactions ranging from cautious optimism about new resources to fear about forced mass relocations to government-run facilities. Many also suspect the whole thing was just a political ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The sprawling Democratic primary field has been headed toward a three-person race, and despite strenuous efforts by the trailing candidates, Thursday's debate seems unlikely to have significantly changed that.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have pulled ...Read more

HOUSTON -- Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren tore into one another's plans and fended off attacks from rivals eager to join them at the head of the field of White House hopefuls during their first clash on the same stage.

The third Democratic debate at Texas Southern University in Houston on Thursday night marked a new phase for the crowded ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- The founder of a new Republican group is defending an ad that aired during Thursday's Democratic presidential debate that featured a burning image of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The New York Democrat criticized the spot as racist.

New Faces GOP was founded by Elizabeth Heng, who lost a House race in California last cycle. Heng,...Read more

Racism is a threat to the fabric of the country, Democratic presidential candidates suggested Thursday at a debate in Houston.

The discussion on race took a personal turn when former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, who is Latino, said the gunman who massacred 22 in El Paso, Texas, last month came to that city to kill "...Read more

There had not been much daylight between Democratic presidential candidates in the Democratic presidential field on gun control. Candidates generally supported liberal policies such as an assault weapons ban and red flag laws that would allow officials to take guns away from high-risk owners.

BALTIMORE -- Landing by helicopter Thursday night in Port Covington, President Donald Trump arrived in the city he infamously insulted as "rodent infested," where he appropriately enough was greeted by a 14-foot inflatable rat among the protesters rallying at his destination: a Republican gathering at the Waterfront Marriott in Harbor East.

BALTIMORE -- As House Republicans kicked off a 48-hour retreat here Thursday afternoon to plot their path back to the majority, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters the GOP's top priority if it retakes the chamber in 2020 would be to address the national debt.

"First thing we would do is make sure our debt is taken care of," the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Up to now, President Donald Trump's interest in the Los Angeles homelessness crisis has been more rhetoric than action, and it's unclear whether a visit by members of his administration this week -- or by Trump himself next Wednesday -- will lead to substantive new policies.

WASHINGTON -- A lot has happened since the Democratic presidential candidates last clashed on the debate stage. Former Vice President Joe Biden has taken some blows. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's support has surged. Ten candidates who were on the stage back in July have either dropped out or been cut from the debate because of poor polling and ...Read more